Assessing Knee Stability in Adolescent Athletes with Osgood-Schlatter Disease Using the Y-Balance Test.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Osgood-Schlatter disease develops secondary to chronic patellar tendon overloading. The present study was designed to determine whether athletes with Osgood-Schlatter disease perform significantly worse in the Y-Balance Test compared to healthy subjects in a control group. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved ten boys (average age 13.7 years). Seven participants had bilateral knee pain, swelling and tenderness whereas three had unilateral knee pain, swelling and tenderness (left knee in two cases, and right knee in one). Overall, 17 knees were assessed (left knee in nine cases and right knee in eight).Ten healthy adolescent professional football players (mean age 14.6 years) were selected as a control group. In both groups, complex knee stability was assessed using the Y-Balance Test and their data were analyzed using the methodology developed by Plisky et al. The test outcome was expressed in indexed (normalized) values for the right and left lower extremities, and averaged values for the individual directions were compared. RESULTS Significant differences between both groups were shown in the posteromedial and posterolateral directions. CONCLUSIONS Using the Y-Balance Test, our study documented reduced performance in the above directions in patients with OsgoodSchlatter disease. Key words: Osgood-Schlatter disease, knee, balance test, movement patterns patellar tendon overload.

[Unexpected Finding of a Foreign Body in the Knee Joint Area of a 10-Year-Old Boy]. / Neocekávaný nález cizího telesa v oblasti kolenního kloubu desetiletého chlapce.

Differential diagnosis of tumor processes in orthopedics is a relatively broad and inherently very serious issue, especially if the patients are pediatric patients. A number of examination procedures is used in diagnostics, together with a wide range of complementary laboratory and imaging methods. However, the clinical examination, including the collected anamnestic data, remains to be the cornerstone. In pediatric patients, of major importance is the cooperation with parents, but not always necessary information is provided to make the final diagnosis. In younger children, it is very often impossible to obtain relevant anamnestic data due to a number of factors that are typical for pediatric patients, namely fear, noncooperation, misunderstanding of questions, mainly as a result of mental immaturity. Therefore, diagnosis in these cases is based primarily on clinical and complementary findings. This work presents a complex issue of this diagnosis, with a surprising and unexpected finding of a foreign body in the knee joint of a pediatric patient, which completely changed the subsequent treatment strategy. It concerned a 10-year-old boy referred to our clinic from another workplace for suspected tumor process in the knee joint. The whole process of examination and final diagnosis depends on a number of detailed information that we have tried to obtain throughout the process. Key words: tumor, knee, foreign body, diagnostics, imaging methods.

[Simultaneous Traumatic Rupture of Patellar Ligament and Contralateral Rupture of Quadriceps Femoris Muscle]. / Simultánní traumatická ruptura ligamentum patellae a kontralaterální ruptura m. quadriceps femoris.

Our paper presents a unique case of a 64-year-old patient after a fall, treated with oral antidiabetic drugs for type II diabetes mellitus. Following a series of examinations, a bilateral injury was diagnosed - patellar ligament tear on the right side and rupture of quadriceps femoris muscle on the left side. It is a rare injury, complicated by simultaneous involvement of both knee joints. The used therapy consisted of a bilateral surgery followed by gradual verticalisation, first with the support of a walking frame and later with the use of forearm crutches. During the final examination, the patient demonstrated full flexion at both knees, while an extension deficit of approx. 5 degrees was still present on the left side. The right knee X-ray showed a proper position of the patella after the removal of temporary tension band wire. Although the clinical results of operative treatment of both the patellar ligament rupture and rupture of quadriceps femoris muscle are in most cases good, early operative treatment, proper technique and post-operative rehabilitation are a prerequisite for success. Key words: knee injuries, patellar ligament, quadriceps muscle, rupture.

[Evaluation of Outcomes after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Children and Adolescents]. / Zhodnocení souboru pacientu po náhrade predního zkrízeného vazu v detském a adolescentním veku.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Treatment for tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in paediatric patients has been a long-discussed issue because of complications associated with ligament reconstruction in the presence of growth plates. Various fixation materials and their efficiency as well as ACL techniques are still under investigation. The aim of our study was to find an optimal strategy of treating acute intra-articular ACL injury in childhood. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The paediatric patients treated for primary traumatic ACL injury between 2003 and 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. Only patients with a healthy contralateral knee (with no signs of instability or previous injury) and no record of previous ACL repair were included. A total of 78 patients were assessed; there were 39 girls and 39 boys with an average age of 15.4 years (11 - 16). The physical development of the patients was assessed on the Tanner scale, their satisfaction was recorded on the basis of the IKDC subjective knee evaluation form and the Tegner-Lysholm scoring system. The instrumented Lachman test using a rollimeter was performed to assess knee stability at 12 and 24 months of follow-up. In addition, the range of knee motion in comparison with the other side, complications and the re-rupture rate of reconstructed ACLs were recorded. Four patients with open growth plates were operated on using the transepiphyseal technique, the remaining 74 underwent reconstruction by the standard transphyseal method. RESULTS: The average Tegner-Lysholm scores were 54 (41-62) pre-operatively and 86.1 (74-96) at 24 months post-operatively. The average IKDC score increased from 48 (42-56) points to 91 (73-97) points. The Lachman test was positive in all patients before ACL reconstruction and negative in 96% of them at 12 and 24 months after surgery. The full range of joint motion was restored after ACL surgery, with minimal motion restriction in flexion and extension, in 70 (89.7%) patients. Motion restriction by 15° or less in flexion and 5° or less in extension was recorded in seven (9%) patients and a significant restriction in extension exceeding 10° was found in one (1.3%) patient. No differences in results were found between the two scoring systems. Five patients (6.4 %) sustained a re-tear in the reconstructed ACL due to a trauma. Non-traumatic subjective instability after the primary repair was not recorded. Revision ACL surgery was carried out due to fixation materials protruding from the bone surface in two patients and because of a Cyclops lesion with extension deficit in one patient. No development of deformity or instability was observed at 24 months in the patients in whom the transepiphyseal technique was used. DISCUSSION In the current literature ACL reconstruction by the transphyseal technique has been described in patients older than 15 years of age but no optimal age has been suggested. Animal experiments have shown that tunnels taking up more that 7-9% of the growth plate surface can result in growth restriction or angular deformity. ACL reconstruction in patients with distinct bone immaturity carries a high risk. The effect of growth on the biomechanical properties of a graft and a long-term consequence of surgical intervention in the growth plate is not yet understood. CONSLUSIONS: Although indications for surgical ACL repair and its timing are bound to be different in each patient, we consider the age of over 15 years to be ideal for ACL reconstruction. In patients younger than 15 years, the necessity of surgical treatment is questionable and conservative therapy can give good outcomes. No adverse effect of an applied graft on the post-operative results was demonstrated. The features of an immature skeleton are specific and complicated therefore, in our view, the relevant health care for paediatric patients should be concentrated into specialised institutions.